Mr. Brian T Nichols

Chief Information Officer

Brian Nichols has nearly 20-years of experience in a variety of leadership positions in higher education, holding a number of key positions including Chief IT Security and Policy Officer, Executive Director of Administrative Services and Risk Management, and in other roles in administration and finance, operations, information systems, user support, audit, disaster recovery, emergency operations, and telecommunications. 

Prior to his current role, Nichols served as Associate Vice President (AVP) for Administration and Information Technology (IT) & CIO at Louisiana State University (LSU).  In this capacity, he led a department with a $60 million budget and had oversight over enterprise-wide information technology at Louisiana’s flagship, public research campus.

Nichols holds a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and a master’s degree in Management Information Systems from LSU.  He holds key security certifications, including a CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) and CISM (Certified Information Security Manager) in addition to the CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor), CIA (Certified Internal Auditor), CRMA (Certified in Risk Management Assurance), and CRISC (Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control) certifications. Nichols is involved in various other efforts in the higher education community, including EDUCAUSE, Internet2, and RUCC. He was a member of the 2008 Frye Leadership Institute held at Emory University.